A Canticle for Leibowitz

Winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel and widely considered one of the most accomplished, powerful, and enduring classics of modern speculative fiction, Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz is a true landmark of twentieth-century literature -- a chilling and still-provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future.

In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes. Seriously funny, stunning, and tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, A Canticle for Leibowitz retains its ability to enthrall and amaze. It is now, as it always has been, a masterpiece.

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St Isaac Leibowitz was one of the scientists who made Armageddon possible, and hoped that it would never become actual. When human folly unleashed unimaginable destruction, he took shelter from the aftermath in a secluded monastery, emerging to found a religious order dedicated to preserving whatever could be preserved. Down through the centuries, the spiritual sons of Leibowitz dare to defy both bloodthirsty simpletons and amoral sophisticates, barbarians who believe that by erasing history they can prevent it from recurring and barbarians who believe that their command of science makes history irrelevant.

A Canticle for Leibowitz is an adaptation and expansion of a series of short stories following the history of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz in the millennia following a devastating nuclear war. One of the classics of science fiction, the heavy use of irony conceals one of the most compassionate and genuinely humane novels of the twentieth century.

It's post-apocalyptic sci-fi, it's historical fiction, it's literary fiction, and it's all around fantastic. I put this book up there with Mary Doria Russell's The sparrow in terms how much I enjoyed it. Interestingly, I see that Russell also wrote a forward for this book. Highly recommend!

A very well written spiritual science-fiction novel. This novel is very thought provoking and is relatable to everyone living today.

The author in this novel gives us a thorough view of monasticism and he goes to the core of original Christian beliefs. All of the characters in this novel, are completely realistic and very well presented.

He also goes into depth about the conflicts between those who want religious learning and those who prefer the horrors of secular education.

To those who want to have a realistic view of society, I highly recommend this book!

Bleak and barbaric. While the setting is the future, the world presented more closely resembles a prehistoric one than a futuristic one. For that reason, it doesn't particularly read like science fiction.
The book is divided into three sections, each set in a different century after a nuclear war had destroyed much of civilization, and the hatred of knowledge felt by the remaining humans had destroyed much of the rest (blaming the nuclear war on science/technology/knowledge rather than on human weakness - though the humans perceived as responsible had been slaughtered while the books burned).
As the first section of the book begins, the only place that has attempted to preserve knowledge is the church. The hero of this section is a monk who accidentally stumbles across a fallout shelter which still contains some pre-war papers.
The other two sections also follow monks at the same monastery - though the third section is jarringly different from the first two (which are excellent). It's necessary to fully communicate the author's overall message, but it's a very awkward transition.
I would hate to have to live in the world portrayed in this book, but most of the characters are compelling and the scenario is not entirely unbelievable.

I normally do not read sci-fi books (not my type at all!) but I randomly picked this book up at the library and I really love it! Its qutie different and I like the slow progression in the chapters. I highly recommend this

A brilliant and timeless novel. I originally read it on the recommendation of my father when I was teen. I was reluctant (of course!) initially, but found myself drawn deeply into it. I have reread it as an adult and found myself even more impressed. Now I am looking forward to being able to recommend this one to my own son with the incumbent pleasure that my own father must have experienced. A classic that must not be missed.